Why go private?

[lilyjen]

I just wanted some answers really, i've never really understood private schools. Why do you need money to be a better teacher and why shouldn't standards be as high in state schools? I understand that lack of funding might mean less resourses in some areas but otherwise why? I'd say i'm quite a fussy mum myself, that is I want the best level of education for my DD who's 6. She's in a state school in Windsor, which is a good school compared to a nursey she went to in a deprived area of Wales previously but i still have issues with their standards. I can't afford private education, i'm a student studying for my nvq 3 in childcare and as a future childcare practitioner with experience already in the feild of schools and nurseries I just don't understand why there's such a varying difference of standards in education and care.

You won't have to mix with nasty common children.

The Mummies have nice coffee mornings.

I don't fart.

But if I did they would indeed be fragrant.

Or I could do fragrant ones at private school and rancid ones at state. Except I am not that organized. And of course, do not fart.

private school farts smell of money.

state school farts smell of chicken nuggets.

what does money smell like?

plus we are gluten intolerant.

We have a twelve year old boy in the room

Message withdrawn

if you don't know what money smells like i'm afraid i can no longer communicate with you.

i have better things to do, like lacrosse and fagging for example.

hey Bloss
I know .

But the suggestions persist whenever this gets raised and having two in private and one in state it is a little annoying to see the endless stereotyping

Oh

There are two answers to this question.

MN received wisdom:

1. I am a petty snob and I do not want my children mixing with yours
2. My children are naice but dim and need to be spoonfed in order to get halfway sensible exam results

My own personal view is that:

1. I want my children to enjoy school and engage with it positively - and I want the school to be able to do the whole child thing - and have lots of music and sports and extra-curricular activities
2. I want my children to be in an academically selective environment so that they can work at a faster pace which is suited to them and be challenged academically
3. I want my children to have small class sizes so that they can't tune out the lessons

There are of course many types of private schools. There are patrician boarding schools for the immensely wealthy and quite possibly immensely dim. There are fiercely academic schools, sporting schools, religious schools etc. You pays your money ...

EMY72-

This is why I say 'self-motivation is OFTEN strongly discouraged' in state. Obviously there are some good state schools around, however I find it less hypocrical to stay where I am and spend £100k on a private education than move to a more middle class area & abandon an area I love in order to spend another £100k on a smaller house in a good catchment area!!!

Interesting to hear that about Windsor area MmeBlueberry. It's a really weird area for LEAs I remember - the school I was at was an SL1 postcode, so you would have though Berks, but in fact came under Bucks LEA. But I do know that quite a number of the students came from Maidenhead, as they used to get off the train there before I got off at Reading on the odd days that I made the mistake of sharing a train with them!

A few of the teachers lived in Windsor, but I never knew the area that well so don't even know how far that is. The grammar I taught in was the least selective in Bucks, from what I was told, taking up to the 50%th percentile, so there wasn't a huge struggle for students to get in, but this was a few years ago so I don't know anymore. I hope OP works something out that works for her.

Certainly agree on the point that you can't say all private schools are better than all state schools - when looking for ds I came across a couple of really poor ones (on the day I looked), but one absolutely stunning dream-style school, and not even on a staged open day. Just have to find something that seems to share your ethos I think. I trained in a state boarding school and that was incredible, so can't make assertions just based on whether they charge! [confused}

Oh dear, having a bad typing day, apologies for all errors

Can I just corre3ct the statement that working conditions for teacheres are beeter in the independent sector. You are often expected to work much longer days and depending on the school sometimes Saturdays too. Sometimes for less money or the same money. All for the 'privilege' of working in such a wonderful envioronment.
It depends on the area but you are paying for who your child sits next to. The research shows that the qulaity of teachiong is no better and anecdotly can be worse as bright motivated children will learn despite the worst teaching whereas as disinterested pupils need stimulating lessons to keep them making progress.

There are plenty of examples of good and bad in both sectors.

I was shocked to discover that some of the highest considered public schools are a slave to their reputation and are sometimes reluctant to deal with issues in case it hits the national press.
Windsor Girls is a good school but the middle schools less impressive. I did some training with a lot of their staff and they didn't impress me.

Not sure where you get your info from on both points you are making.

MmeBB - interested (and depressed), but not surprised, to hear that very few make it across the M4 to the Slough grammar schools. It seems like the motorway forms an educational as well as physical barrier (try crossing it in the rush hour). I'd love to know the geographic breakdown of pupils in those 4 schools.

The point which is always overlooked is that most state school parents "want" the things which are listed above as being advantages of private school too. But a lot of people were brought up to think "I want doesn't get."

Sorry this is going off the post title but of interest to lilyjen.
It seems Slough, Langley & St Bernard's don't have a catchment area, Herschel will have one from 2010.

'bright motivated ppupils will learn despite the worst teaching'

My experience is that the 'bright' pupils are MOST likely to get bored and become disruptive, so I don't know where you get your information from mnistooaddictive!!!

The whole point of private schools is the specialist teaching they provide NOT one teacher trying to teach all subjects- who cares if the Geography teacher isn't very good at Maths for example! When DD started last year, we were told that most G&T pupils transferring from state sector would struggle to catch up in the first couple of years and this is certainly what I have witnessed with DD's peers.

They don't have a catchment area as such, but nor do a lot of schools nowadays.

If they are oversubscribed, they still basically have to take the closest children first.

The one quirk with grammar schools is that they have to set the passmark after the November 11+ exams, and still pretty much set it low enough in Slough to select from a fairly small geographical area.

Slough grammars have a very distinctive character that may not be what some parents are looking for. They can also be very over-crowded. Most Windsor parents are happy to use Windsor Boys' School and look no further. As for Windsor Girls', an equal number of eligible students will look elsewhere as those who actively want a girls' only school, and that keeps them muddling along.

Windsor is a very, very complicated area for schooling. It is almost impossible to generalise on any aspect of it.

Pugs,

My DD is G&T and entered the independent sector in Year 7. She excelled in core subjects, but was woefully behind in everything else. To boot, she was also totally bored for much of Year 5 and 6 because she had already mastered the magical Level 5.

I pulled my next daughter out of the state system at the start of Year 5 because I couldn't bear to see her spinning her wheels like her sister.

pugsandseals - 12 years of teaching in a wide variety of schools. Where do you get your information from?
Most well behaved, well motivated children will learn whatever - they are capable of teaching themselves and often do. They go on the internet, use revision guides and find out what they want to know. They also have the benefit of often having parents who are capable of helping them if they need it.

As to my other point, I was talking to someone who had spent a lifetime teaching in indepedent schools so she had no axe to grind but left one of the countries so called top schools due to the heads refusal to deal with a serious drugs problem. A blind eye was turned as he didn't want it getting into the press that the school had a drugs problem and potntially hitting future applications.

mnistooaddictive-
I also have many years of teaching in schools in very different parts of the country!

My point is that children can be very bright but become disruptive if bored at school, surely you cannot argue against that? The most disruptive pupils in any class are often those with the potential but not the motivation & good parenting cannot always bridge this gap alone!

I said well motivated pupils and I stick to my point about them. There are very bright pupils who will disrupt but they can be more easily entertained with basic learning extension activities than those who have no desire to learn. They can more easily be pushed through hoops with promises of exam results and University places.
I believe EVERY school has some below par teachers. I have worked with some but they still got results from top sets because these pupils can teach themselves if necessary. Bottom sets, however, that is where you really need to engage interest.

So bright children don't disrupt the class then? I'll tell that to all the G&T KS4 pupils I know that are in the behavioural unit!!!
Bright do get bored if they don't have a naturally competitive nature which only the best schools provide (most of these being private)